A timeline on Iran

The NYTimes has a lengthy piece on the two sides of the Iran debate within the administration, Rice vs. Cheney, diplomacy vs. attack, and a vague talk of "some yet-undefined milestones" that the Iranians will not be allowed to cross.

We've heard all that before.

I found this Tapped post far more interesting. It represents the situation not as a debate about strategy within factions, but as a clock running out on diplomacy.

So a new timeline would appear to be emerging: if the current route of multilateral diplomacy and economic pressure hasn't achieved a change in Iran's behavior on the nuclear front by the end of the year, there is likely to be renewed and concerted pressure on the Bush administration to contemplate military action.

The thing to watch for is whether the hawks try to subvert diplomacy in the interim to leave "no choice" but an attack.